Sacramento State will again shake off the cold of winter and welcome the return of spring with its annual Festival of the Arts, March 17-20. Events highlighting the University’s commitment to theatre, music, art, design and creative writing will entertain and inspire participants at locations across the campus.

“The Festival embraces the full spectrum of art,” says Jeffrey D. Mason, dean of the College of Arts and Letters. “Audiences can enjoy stories as old as Ovid and as new as the young writers who will publish tomorrow. Images will reflect the natural world, everyday life and the cutting-edge commercial domain, and music will range from the Renaissance to the latest jazz.”

Three receptions will spotlight the Festival on Thursday, March 18. A gathering will be held 5-8 p.m. in the University Library Gallery for an exhibition of terra cotta work by the Gladding McBean company. Kadema Hall’s Else Gallery is the site of a reception for Maria Winkler’s exhibition of paintings and artist books, 5-6:30 p.m. And the Witt Gallery, also in Kadema Hall, will be the scene of a reception for Brian Wermund and his exhibit, “Displaced,” 6-8 p.m.

More fine art and design events will feature works by commercial graphic artist Hugh Dubberly and a symposium on the divide between art and craft.

Theatrical productions include Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, based on Ovid’s poem; and an original piece by playwright Nakia Oglesby, presented by Sons/Ancestors Players.

Music highlights include the jazz sounds of trombonist Wycliffe Gordon playing with the Sac State Jazz Ensemble and Sacramento Jazz Orchestra; classical music by the University’s Liberace Wind Quintet; and a faculty recital by percussionist Daniel Kennedy.

The written word will be represented with readings by novelist Carole Maso, fiction writer Ricardo Cortez Cruz, and Erica Jeffreys and Jordan Okumura.

“Art is a celebration of life, of humanity, of who we are and what we mean,” says Mason. “Every artist tells a story, every artist sings a song, and we all revel in sharing the work.”

For a complete schedule or more information, visit www.csus.edu/festival. For media assistance, call Sacramento State’s Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156.